Power outages which today hit Spain, Portugal, and parts of France have severely impacted industrial and consumer operations and underlined the need for grid stability and more secure networks.
Regardless of whether the fault was a systems failure or from a cyber-attack, the widespread outage has upped the stakes over energy security.
Spain’s Energy Minister Sara Aagesen Munoz attended the Future of Energy Security conference in London last week where she called for better planning, closer collaboration, and a more “holistic approach” among countries in building resilience.
She said we also need to think more about the link between energy, electricity and affordable prices.
“The reality that we are facing is that sustainability, security and competitiveness are not a trilemma – they are a clear opportunity,” she said.
Many Europeans will be feeling less upbeat today. A source in Marbella told gasworld that the outage “was at least for 90 minutes” though power has since returned.
Iberdrola Executive Chairman Ignacio Galán, who was also attending the London conference, said that global electricity demand is set to double by 2050, making investment in transmission and distribution networks, and generation and storage, “more urgent than ever”.
“To achieve a clean, secure and competitive energy source, countries require strong energy policies, attractive returns, faster permitting processes, and the rationalisation of energy taxation,” he said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it is essential we “develop infrastructure together” and build grids, interconnectors, and cables – although closer integration presents enhanced cyber threats. The European Commission recently approved a €612m Portuguese scheme to lower electricity levy rates for energy-intensive companies.
A key component of the Europe Clean Industrial Deal is bolstering grid connectivity, particularly through the European Grid Package and the Grids Manufacturing Package, to facilitate the electrification of industry and the integration of renewable energy sources.
Spain installed 5GW of solar power in 2023 alone. While solar power is a key part of the country’s green transition, it also introduces serious cybersecurity risks. Hackers have already learned how to exploit vulnerabilities in solar panel management systems.
Experts emphasise the need for better security standards, regular software updates and stronger production for IoT devices in the energy sector.
It is unclear how long the network disruption will last, with reports indicating varying timeframes from 10 hours up to a week.
